Stephen Parkinson

Amidst the triumph of London 2012, everybody knows about two Olympic medallists-turned-Tory MPs: Seb Coe and Colin Moynihan, who have done so much to make London's third Olympic Games a success. But fewer are likely to know that the men who presided over the organizing committees for London's last two Olympiads were also former Conservative MPs. And how many Tory parliamentarians beside Lords Moynihan and Coe have won Olympic medals? (More than their Labour and Liberal counterparts combined — including two Tory MPs who won Olympic medals while still in the Commons.)

Details about all that and more can be found in this article - a PDF, taken from the forthcoming edition of the Conservative History Group's annual journal.

Stephen Parkinson is the National Organiser (Conservatives) for the cross-party NO to AV campaign.

It's 100 days today until 5th May - still (with one eye on the House of Lords) the likely date of the referendum on whether we should ditch our current voting system and replace it with the Alternative Vote.

With this landmark in mind, here are ten easy ways Conservatives can help the cross-party NO to AV campaign right away.

1. If you're not already getting them, sign up for our weekly emails at www.no2av.org.

7. Make sure your Association is ordering some of our first leaflet. We're making 1,000 available to every Association for free so you have some for street stalls etc. Alternatively, you can increase that to 10,000 for just £100 (including delivery). All you need to do is send your preferred delivery address and contact number to me by email or to our network of volunteer NO to AV co-ordinators who are getting in touch with Associations at the moment.

8. Make a donation to the campaign online. Unlike the Yes campaign, who can rely on the war chests of the Electoral Reform Society and Joseph Rowntree, we have had to raise funds from a standing start to fight this referendum. Any sum you can spare will help us close that gap and mount the best possible campaign.

9. Let us know what the Yes campaign and the Lib Dems are up to in your area - you can send copies of any local leaflets you receive to NO to AV, 3 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SP.

10. Spread the word! Make sure your fellow campaigners and activists know what they can do to help - and don't forget your non-Conservative friends: it's right that a referendum on an issue as important as this should rise above party politics, and there are plenty of ways for people to help us secure a 'No' vote whatever their political affiliation.